We came to Sylvan with a very specific request to assess skill gaps in Math that we had observed at…read morehome. My son's school only does grade-level adaptive assessments that cover a broad set of skills and so we wanted to get an outside assessment that could be more targeted to the problems we had observed. Sylvan's diagnostic was a little expensive - about $150 - but that's OK to get what we are looking for. They did not complete the assessment as we'd asked. They performed a similar style of adaptive assessment as the school district does, so we got no value from that. I already have access to nearly identical diagnostics from the School district. They also did an English language skills assessment which we had no interest in. We only came here for math. Performing this test did not add value, it just wasted our time. Finally, the process took a week. By comparison, Mathnasium turned it around same day at no cost, and did an excellent job of listening to our needs and targeting the testing to what we were looking for. Overall I feel like I've spent a lot of money for something I didn't ask for, that adds no value to me as a customer. I would have far preferred if Sylvan had let me know up front that they don't offer the services I was looking for. They seem like a wonderful resource for general improvements across the board - but that's not what I asked for.

My daughter scored mostly below stardard scale for reading and writting at the end of her 5th…read moregrade. I freaked out and called aroudn to search for tutor help but not able to find any that I feel firs our needs. Then my coworker told us about Sylvan that her son has been attending. I quickly got connected with Pat who was super sweet and explained to me about Sylvan. The comprehensive test showed that my dtr need helps for reading and writting which also reflected in her school rpt. And my dtr has been attending since July 2022 and her scored has been improve tremendously. She is getting mostly A in her classes. We are very happy with the guidances ans supports that we have been getting from Sylvan esp the progress meeting every 3 months we get is really helpful. Thank you to Pat and all the awsome tutors !!!

My daughter has been going here for a few months. She has gone from really disliking math to…read moreenjoying it. She gets excited to come here because they make math fun, they have prizes and games and she is learning a lot! Mia, the director, is also amazing.

We love Mia and Mathnasium! We just passed our 1-year mark with them and are still going strong and…read moreloving their visits! Thanks so much for making math fun for my daughters!

I was so thrilled to have found SCS! Immediately impressed by how organized and dedicated the…read moreteachers and administrators are. As with most educational organizations, parental involvement and volunteerism are vital to its success. Currently, the Seattle Chinese School utilizes the Interlake High School facility at 16245 NE 24th Street in Bellevue, for its Saturday morning classes. They teach Traditional Mandarin Chinese, not simplified, from age 3 and up. It follows public school calendar, with 30 weeks of classes per year. For parents who prefer a more structured educational setting, I would highly recommend to take a tour, talk with other parents to see if it's a good fit for your child.

How great is it to have an option for early language education for children in Issaquah? We have…read morebeen thrilled to take part in the German Child-Caregiver Class. Heike is fantastic! She connected easily with our two-year-old and the environment is fun and interactive with music, movement, books, puppets, and props that keep our child engaged. For a child with one parent who is a native German speaker, and one who is not, this class has been a perfect fit to develop and strengthen her second-language abilities in a very relaxed but immersive manner. Not only is our child speaking more German at home without being prompted, she also looks forward to her class with excitement every week.

I love this place! This place has greatly helped me improve my math skills! My math grades were…read morereally bad in first semester so I decided to try this place out! The instructors are really nice, and helpful, and they help answer your questions! My math grade turned from a B+ to A after I came here! Thank you Mathnasium! Also, I go to the Sammamish location but I couldn't find it on yelp, for some weird reason.

I was looking for a program for students that don't struggle in math, but needed an extra…read morechallenge. My 3rd grader finished all of the 3rd grade math curriculum and her teacher was struggling to supplement her learning (and she really, really tried- her teacher was awesome! I don't want anyone to think otherwise! I think she is the reason my child got through it so fast!) I really did not want my 8 year old to not learn more math for 6 months! That would be like 6 months of not reading. Most of the other programs I checked out were for students who needed help in math to bring them up to standard. Mathnasium was the only program I found to help a students that loved math and needed more! My daughter loves, loves, loves it! And I feel a lot better knowing that my kiddo is getting new curriculum and not just being bored!

I am sharing my perception and feelings after having completed two initial courses at Excel…read moreMandarin, the 4-week Intro class and the 7-week first quarter, on my journey of this four-quarter Fluency series. The Excel Mandarin learning method strikes me as the most advanced teaching format out there. It unconditionally focuses on enabling Mandarin listening and speaking skills for daily life situations. I have tried other formats before, such as group classes and individual tutoring, as well as individual apps, which were all of course helpful but not providing me with a learning progress I had been seeking. This Excel Mandarin method does for me what none of the other approaches I tried could do - it enabled me after these initial three months so far to hold a basic conversation in Mandarin with increasing confidence. It did a shift in my mind and taught me how to learn. A method called 'reverse classroom' is used to make students speak and practice in Mandarin right away all the time, instead of mainly listening to content delivery by a teacher. This way, right from the first class, students learn to overcome this huge mental hurdle, anxiety and hesitation and learn to listen and speak Mandarin, and embedded the words and grammar structures. The class format itself is online in a small, intimate group setting. The classes feel relaxed and engaging, and it is fun and motivating to connect with the teachers and peer learners. It must be clearly stated though - This method requires the regular time commitment to prepare for each class, besides the normal time for work and social life. There are three evening classes per week for the fast pace, and it is essential to use these days in-between to study and complete homework to prepare, so one can feel relaxed when each class begins. Only a prepared mind will be relaxed to take the benefit of the reverse classroom approach. To support this, there is a dedicated tailored Excel Mandarin app to provide weekly vocabulary, grammar teachings and dedicated articles and online office hour, with immediate supporting feedback on homework provided. The app is designed extremely well, connecting content, fellow students and teachers. The engagement of the teachers is so high, with many follow-ups and touchpoints. The method's effectiveness rests on two pillars - the thoughtfully created online learning app framework, as well as the just outstanding teachers who just thrive to see students succeed and coach them with this reverse classroom learning method. The two teachers I work with, Eco and Tim, are just stellar. At the end of the first quarter, students are giving a short, few-minutes basic presentation about one topic of their choice, and then answer questions by their fellow students .... All in Mandarin, with the vocabulary and grammar kit available so far. At the end of the first quarter I felt an incredible sense of accomplishment and confidence. I feel no other Mandarin learning system can even remotely deliver this in an equal time frame. The second quarter, which I just started, has the same feeling of clear and effective support structure, and I get into the groove of good time management for best using this fast-paced and fun method.

I've now taken both Q1, Q2, and Q3 with EM, and I'm very impressed with my progress. In Q1, I…read morelearned a lot of new vocabulary and key sentence structures. In Q2, I learned more complex grammar and vocabulary that's been very practical for discussing everyday life. I learned how to express my opinions more and talk about food, hobbies, and travel, which is not only useful, but also fun to practice. In Q3, I learned how to talk about more complex topics, such as work, emotions, and changes. EM classes are a fairly significant time commitment (class 3x per week + weekly homework), but definitely worth it. Their approach to teaching - focusing on speaking, lots of practice in class, tailored toward what would be most practical for most people - has enabled me to progress faster in learning the language than I would've been able to in other programs. On top of that, my teachers and classmates are funny and enjoyable to spend time with! I'm continuing on to the intermediate conversation class because I'm excited to further improve my speaking fluency and discuss more interesting topics with classmates.

I'm writing in response to the nanny who posted below, to help clarify some of her misconceptions…read more I have been a Kumon instructor for almost 7 years, (at a different location). Prior to Kumon, my background was in teaching high school. Yes, it's true that most kids hate doing Kumon. Most kids hate doing anything that involves work or thinking, especially if their friends don't have to do it. If you go back and ask most adults who did the Kumon program as children, many will tell you that yes, they hated it, but it was the "best thing their parents ever did for them"; especially those that were in the program for many years. Many students struggle in high school and college with math (and still finger-count to add and subtract); Kumon students typically breeze through their classes. There is a misconception that Kumon is all about rote memorization and repetition and not full understanding, which isn't true. Yes, repetition is part of the program. Kumon is an EXERCISE program for your brain. You get better at things, whether it be golf, playing piano, running, etc.--by practicing. And yes, you need to do things more than once in order to get really, really, good at them. Math is no exception. If a child isn't grasping multiplication, the instructor will have the child practice multiplication until they do understand it and get really good at it before moving them on to division. They will practice division until they get really good at it before doing fractions. It makes math really simple and easy to understand when it is progressive. We do want them to try to do the exercises quickly so that as they move through the program they will be able to get through the upper level material in a reasonable time without it taking hours and hours to complete. They are not forced to do all the math in their heads. We encourage them in the lower levels of the program not to write excessive scratch work when unnecessary, because it will make the assignments go much faster and make the subsequent levels easier. If the child trains him or herself to add the extra "one" in their head instead of writing it every single time, it will make it easier later on to add fractions, which are written horizontally. When they are doing more complex processes, they do need to write the intermediate steps. Occasionally I do have some kids that have difficulty with this, and they are allowed to write out the carries or borrows to keep track. There are several reasons we ask parents not to help or teach their children at home. Kumon is a self-learning program, where we develop our students to be able to teach themselves through studying the examples--and yes, they get really, really good at it. If they aren't understanding the examples, the instructor will work as a guide to help the student. In almost seven years, I have rarely had to sit down and explicitly explain something to a student. I would say that roughly 60% of the kids figure out the examples without assistance. The rest of them may need some guidance (usually 3-10 seconds of quick guidance and asking questions helps them figure it out). Some need a little; others need a lot. I find that maybe one out of every 2-300 kids needs me to actually 'show' them. They designed the worksheets to be very self-explanatory. When parents start over-teaching their kids' Kumon at home, we find that many teach their kids the incorrect way (or more difficult way) of solving something and we have to go back and undo it. I had a student once who took 1 1/2 hours to complete 3 pages because after she learned division at Kumon her mom "re-taught" her the long way to do it--when I went back and had her do it the "Kumon way" she did the same 3 pages in 15 minutes and it was much easier for her. Also, kids who get outside help become EXTREMELY dependent upon it--no one is going to be holding their hand through school. I find that the kids that are in our classes who are struggling, needy, and dependent are usually the ones that are getting too much help outside of class. If I don't take your training wheels off, are you ever going to be able to ride a bike on your own? =) I've had students here for 5 years that have never needed to ask a question. If a student is having difficulty, I want them to alert me in class--not ask their parents. It helps me know what kinds of questions they have so I can better lesson plan for them. Students who learn to study our examples well are able to progress into the higher level math easily and finish the program; those who get too much help end up dropping out once their parents are no longer able to help them. Most of our students get ahead of grade level end up in accelerated programs at school, honors classes, skip grades, or are the top of their math class. I've watched hundreds of kids go through this program and reach a higher potential--that's a great program in my book. =)

It's not the specific location that's awful, it's kumon in general. I am not a mom, but I have…read morebeen a professional nanny for 9 years now and EVERY child I have looked after or have known through other kids HATES kumon. it's the philosophy that bothers me most. Repetition, speed, and prizes outweigh any thoughtful teaching or need to actually understand concepts. They drill worksheet after worksheet, the kids being forced to do the math in their heads(they are not allowed to show their work or mark the page). I watched an instructor explain borrowing in subtraction to a child. She said if the number is lower on top simply add a one in your head. There was no explanation of place value. It was simple mechanics of getting the right answer quickly. They didn't seem to think it important to teach concepts. Not only that, but I was told I could not help explain at home or the child would always be dependent on me for help. Excuse me? Shouldn't the goal be parent involvement? I understand teaching independence, and I would never do the work for a child, but a simple explanation should be ok. Yes, all the kids that have gone to kumon can rattle off addition and multiplication problems both super speedily and accurately. Most have little idea what it means and most will learn these skills at school anyway with the added benefit of understanding what they do. Let your kids play after school, they will learn more than by attending any kumon program!

I've sent our now Kindergartener for about 6 months. We started during Covid virtually because I…read morewas nervous about school being online and this was good practice with online learning. They do online options Monday and Wednesday and in person options Tuesday and Thursday right now. On the off days, you work for 15-20min with your kiddo. If attending at the center, you drop off your kiddo and wait outside.

My kids started the reading program with the Lakemont Center when they were in pre-school. We added…read morethe math program soon after. The kids got a good foundation in reading, spelling, reading comprehension and math. The foundation helped them succeed at school and they are well prepared to take advanced classes!